(Editor’s note: The future prices of benchmark tracking ETFs and the headline were updated in the story.)
U.S. stock futures were swinging between gains and losses on Thursday following Wednesday’s lower close. Futures of major benchmark indices were mixed.
Economic resilience was on display Thursday as initial jobless claims fell unexpectedly to 198,000, signaling continued labor market tightness, while manufacturing activity in the Northeast rebounded with the Empire State and Philadelphia Fed indexes climbing to 7.7 and 12.6, respectively. Inflation data remained in focus as delayed figures showed U.S. import prices rose 0.4% over the two months ended in November.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 1% on Wednesday as reports of a 25% tariff on select semiconductor imports overshadowed U.S. approval for exports to China. Meanwhile, tariff uncertainty persists as the Supreme Court again delayed its ruling on the framework’s legality.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.15%, and the two-year bond was at 3.52%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 95% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in January.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | 0.11% |
| S&P 500 | 0.36% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 0.75% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.16% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, were higher in premarket on Thursday. The SPY was up 0.40% at $693.13, while the QQQ advanced 0.91% to $625.16.
Stocks In Focus
Goldman Sachs Group
- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) was 1.79% lower in premarket trade on Thursday as it reported quarterly earnings of $14.01 per share, beating the expected $11.65 per share on the revenue of $13.45 billion, slightly below the estimated $13.79 billion.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings show that GS maintains a stronger price trend over the short, medium, and long term, with a solid quality ranking.